How to configure DIG emulator frontend for Android

DIG is one of the best emulator frontends for Android devices. DIG makes sorting your video game emulators and ROMs easy and fun. With Android support, anyone can take advantage of DIG to play retro games.

What is DIG and what does it do?

There are a lot of video game emulators available for Android devices. Unfortunately, if you have a large video game collection, it can be difficult to run different emulators for each individual system.

DIG acts as a graphical user interface for all your emulators and ROMs on Android . Essentially, DIG is a cool way to display your retro game collection, as well as a super easy way to launch any game from any system.

With DIG, your game collection is organized by console. Furthermore, individual games have metadata, such as box art, screenshots, and even gameplay summaries. It's important to understand that DIG itself isn't an emulator; it's simply a graphical frontend that organizes the console emulators and ROMs you already have on your Android device.

Note : The version of the app tested in this article is 1.42.4 from the APK. This version of the app retains all the functionality detailed in this guide. It is recommended that you download this version and not update to ensure the app continues to function as intended.

1. Add ROM to device

DIG does not provide any video game ROMs, nor does it give you the ability to download any ROMs from within the app. So you have to source the ROMs yourself. It is important to remember that while video game emulators are completely legal, ROMs are not. Obviously, DIG is essentially useless without game ROMs, so you will need to use some ROMs before you can start playing.

Once you have your ROMs, you’ll need to transfer them to your Android device. If your Android phone supports microSD cards, you should use that. Since DIG is compatible with a number of different consoles, you can easily load your entire retro game collection onto your Android device.

Whether you choose your device’s internal storage or a microSD card, you should place your ROMs in a folder labeled “ROMs” or “video games.” If you want, you can even organize your ROMs into separate folders using the console. This makes it a little easier for DIG to know where your ROMs are.

2. Scan ROM

With the ROM on your Android device, launch DIG. When you first launch DIG, it will ask you if you want it to scan your device for ROMs. It will give you the option to scan your entire device or manually select a specific folder. Since you already have all your ROMs organized, choose the latter option and point DIG to your ROMs folder to make the scan go faster.

Once DIG starts scanning, you'll notice that your game list will automatically populate. DIG divides your ROMs into categories like Systems and Genres , making it easy to find the game you want to play. For example, tapping Systems will show you the consoles that have ROMs on your system.

If you have a Super Mario Bros. ROM, the Nintendo Entertainment System will appear as a selectable option in the Systems submenu . Selecting it will show you all the NES ROMs on your device. Additionally, DIG will also automatically download box art, screenshots, and other metadata, such as release dates and plot summaries, for each game from TheGamesDB.

Note: Your device needs to be connected to the Internet to scan metadata.

If you add more ROMs to your device later, you can easily add them to DIG. To get your new games to show up in DIG, you'll need to tell DIG to manually scan for new ROMs. To do so, tap Options in the main menu, then ROM scanning , and finally Start manual scan .

DIG will ask if you want to scan your entire device or a specific folder, then begin scanning. A small wrench icon will appear in the upper right of the screen to indicate that it is still scanning. Once the wrench icon disappears, DIG is done scanning and new games will appear in the DIG menu. Unfortunately, when scanning new ROMs, you will notice that the cover art and other metadata are missing. To fix this, skip to step 6 below.

3. Configure the emulator

While DIG isn't an emulator itself, it is compatible with a variety of emulators for a variety of consoles. If you already have a DIG-compatible emulator installed on your device, DIG will automatically recognize it and assign it to use with the ROMs for that system. If you don't have an emulator installed for the ROMs in your collection, DIG makes it incredibly easy to find and assign the emulator.

If you try to launch a game that doesn't have an emulator assigned to it, DIG will automatically go to the Google Play Store to download the appropriate emulator. Simply download and install the emulator on your device and DIG will automatically assign it to use with the corresponding ROMs.

4. Change the default emulator

One of the best things about DIG is that you can use just about any emulator available on Google Play. If you want to experiment with different emulators, DIG makes it easy to switch between them. To do so, simply navigate to your console’s game list. In the top right of the screen, tap the three stacked dots. In the drop-down menu, tap Manage system .

Tap Default Emulator to bring up a list of compatible emulators, then select the emulator you have installed on your Android device. DIG will automatically set that emulator as the default for that system. So the next time you launch a game associated with that console, DIG will use the emulator you specified to run the game.

5. Search for missing cover images and metadata

DIG automatically downloads metadata for your ROMs when you first launch the app. However, if you add games later, they won’t have box art or screenshots when they’re added to your games list. Luckily, you can search for missing cover art and metadata at any time.

To download missing metadata, tap Options in the main menu. From there, tap Game covers -> Refresh images . DIG will ask if you want to download missing box art. Tap OK and DIG will do the rest.

6. Customize theme

Now that you have added your ROM and configured your emulator, you are ready to play your favorite retro games. However, DIG is a bit bland. Thankfully, DIG has a number of themes available so you can customize the DIG frontend on your device.

To do so, launch DIG and tap Options in the main menu. On the next screen, select Themes . In the drop-down menu, tap Select theme , which will show you four options that come with the DIG app. The default is Black . You can see an example of the black theme in some of the screenshots above.

In addition to the black and white themes, there are also Gray and Blue/Covers , which use blue in the menus and use the box art of your device's ROMs as backgrounds.

In addition to the default themes, there are many more themes available for download thanks to a strong online community creating and sharing themes on the official DIG website.

To install a new theme on your Android device, download the theme you like from the DIG forum. If you downloaded the theme to your computer, you will need to transfer the file to your Android device. Be sure to note where you put the file.

Next, launch DIG on your device and select Options from the main menu, then tap Themes . In the drop-down menu, select Install theme . DIG will prompt you to point it to where the theme is stored on your device. Once the theme is installed, it will be a selectable option alongside the default black, white, gray, and blue colors.

7. Customize game display

In addition to changing the theme, DIG also gives users the ability to change how their games are displayed. The default option is to display your game box art in a grid. However, there are a few different options available. When browsing your game, tap the three stacked dots in the upper right corner of the screen. Tap View as in the drop-down menu.

In the next menu, you will see a variety of options, including Carousel , Wheel , Cover flow , and more. Tap on the option of your choice to apply it. If you don’t like any of the other options, don’t worry. To go back to the default view, follow the same steps and select Grid .

8. Set DIG to auto-start

Don't plan on using your Android device for anything other than playing retro games? You'll probably want DIG to launch automatically when you turn on your device. Luckily, setting this up is easy.

First, launch DIG. On the main menu, tap Options . On the Options screen , select App . In the drop-down menu, tap Auto-start DIG on device boot to turn on the switch. The next time you boot your Android device, DIG will run automatically.

With support for a wide range of systems and emulators and a relatively small footprint, the DIG emulator frontend is a great way to easily organize your retro video game collection. While it can take a bit of effort to get the app up and running, it’s definitely worth it. DIG is one of the most user-friendly emulator frontends available for Android.